This invention relates to loading dock seals, and more particularly, to loading dock seals of the inflatable type.
It is a primary object of the present invention to afford a novel loading dock seal. Another object is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the inflatable type.
Loading dock seals of the inflatable type have been heretofore known in the art being shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,303,615, 3,391,502, 3,391,503 and 3,714,745, issued to Larry O'Neal, and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,634,589, issued to Broadus Wilson et al. However, inflatable loading dock seals heretofore known in the art have commonly had several disadvantages, such as, for example, being large and bulky in size; requiring excessive amounts of material in the construction thereof; being difficult to install; being difficult to repair or replace; being subject to excessive drooping or sagging when in deflated condition; not affording an effective seal when in deflated condition; being complicated in construction and operation; or, being difficult and expensive to manufacture, and the like. It is an important object of the present invention to overcome such difficulties.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the inflatable type which can be quickly and easily installed in a novel and expeditious manner.
Yet another object is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the inflatable type wherein separate individual sections may be quickly and easily removed and replaced in the event of damage thereto or the malfunction thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the inflatable type wherein the various portions thereof may be connected together in a novel and expeditious manner for the passage of air therebetween.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the inflatable type which affords effective sealing engagement between a truck and a warehouse doorway, even when the seal is in deflated condition.
An object ancillary to the foregoing is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the inflatable type which embodies a resilient pad constituted and arranged therein in a novel and expeditious manner effective to afford effective sealing engagement between such a truck and the seal, when the seal is in deflated condition.
Another object of the present invention is to afford a novel loading dock seal of the aforementioned type which is practical and efficient operation, and which may be readily and economically produced commercially.
Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show the preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principles thereof and what we now consider to be the best mode in which we have contemplated applying these principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.